With the purchase of our first 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at the end of January, and now with a second one in our garage since mid-April, we have completely transitioned away from traditionally fueled vehicles. Our everyday transportation needs are now powered entirely by electricity.

It has been a surprisingly easy transition since both Bolt EVs are a joy to drive, have plenty of interior room for passengers and cargo, and are kept at or above the three-quarters charge level most of the time, giving us regular access to 180 miles of range or above.

That's done simply by overnight charging at a regular 120-volt outlet in our garage/ Other times we use a Level 2 charging station near a few good local restaurants, and occasionally a CCS DC fast-charging site or Level 2 charging on longer trips.

The Bolt EVs fit the needs of our four-person family very well. In addition to attending middle school and high school, our kids are both involved in a variety of extracurricular activities and have the extra gear that goes along with music and athletic equipment.

The interior room in each Bolt makes around-town driving and road trips very comfortable, and we found the cargo area surprisingly large.

On most school days, the Bolt EV tasked with the school commute holds our daughter’s rolling drum set (the dimensions of a medium-sized rolling suitcase), our son’s trumpet case, both kids’ loaded backpacks, gym bags, and usually another backpack or bag with room to spare.

We've also taken five separate overnight journeys of 240 miles or more round-trip, and found the Bolt EV accommodates all our bags and luggage for the four of us without any problem.

While we haven't undertaken a road trip of more than 250 miles—we just haven't had the need so far—we have no reservations in doing so, given the network of DC fast-charging sites along main highways and freeways in Oregon, Washington, and California, not to mention the large number of Level 2 chargers as well.

Our first road trip, then more

Our very first road trip was a great test of the first Bolt EV we bought in late January. We needed to take my wife to the Eugene airport early the following morning for a flight across the country so she could surprise her mother on her birthday.

One early evening in mid-February, we set out from North Bend to a hotel near Eugene, a distance of about 115 miles, with the battery at 92 percent of charge. We made the trip in heavy rain with an outside temperature of only 40 degrees F which fell to the upper 30s near our destination.

We stopped at a 24-kilowatt DC fast charger about 15 miles from our hotel, and ate dinner from a nearby fast-food restaurant while the car charged for about 45 minutes, gaining roughly 80 miles of range. That gave us an average range reading that indicated 160 miles.